The Greatest Dancer

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The Greatest Dancer
The Greatest Dancer.jpeg
Genre Dance competition
Created by Syco
Directed byJulia Knowles
Presented by
Starring
Judges
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes18
Production
Executive producers
  • Amelia Brown
  • Nigel Hall
  • Louise Hutchinson
Producers
  • Iain Peckham
  • Clara Marshall
Production locations ICC Birmingham (auditions)
LH2 Studios (live shows)
Running time60–70 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network BBC One
Release5 January 2019 (2019-01-05) 
7 March 2020 (2020-03-07)
Related
Rising Star

The Greatest Dancer is a British dance competition television series created by Simon Cowell and produced by Syco Entertainment. The first BBC programme created by Cowell, The Greatest Dancer sees previously undiscovered dance acts perform live weekly for Cheryl, Oti Mabuse, Matthew Morrison and Todrick Hall (series 2 only) (the "Dance Captains") and a studio audience in a competition to win £50,000 and a chance to perform on Strictly Come Dancing .

Contents

The first series aired on BBC One on Saturdays from 5 January to 23 February 2019, and was won by 14-year-old solo dancer Ellie Fergusson from Livingston, West Lothian, who was mentored by Oti Mabuse. [1] A second series premiered on 4 January 2020, [2] with the addition of Todrick Hall to the judging panel, and Curtis Pritchard replaced Amelia Wilson as the receptionist. [3] [4] The series ran until 7 March 2020, when it was won by Latin and ballroom dancers Michael and Jowita, also mentored by Mabuse. On 28 April 2020, the BBC announced that were no plans for any further series of The Greatest Dancer. [5]

Series overview

Judges:

  Dancer in Team Oti
  Dancer in Team Matthew
  Dancer in Team Cheryl
  Dancer in Team Todrick
Finalist Overview
SeriesWinnerRunners-upFourth PlaceWinning MentorHostsDance Captains (seat order)
1234
1Ellie FergussonHarry & EleiyahKLAJames & Oliver Oti Mabuse Alesha Dixon Jordan Banjo OtiMatthewCherylN/A
2 Michael & Jowita Harrison VaughanLily & JosephDancepointTodrick

Format

A non-televised pilot for the show was filmed in February 2018 at Hammersmith Apollo in London. [6]

Auditions

The auditions for the first series took place at ICC Birmingham in August of the previous year [7] and were divided into three episodes in 2019, and four in 2020, airing each Saturday. Auditioning acts were allowed to consist of any number of members, and each person participating was required to be at least 7 years old. [8] Each auditioning act performed in front of a one-way mirror and each audience member had a light to turn on during each audition that they liked; only acts for whom at least 75 percent of the audience turned on their lights would qualify for the callbacks. [9] The format was adapted from the Israeli television music competition franchise Rising Star . [10] In the second series, at the end of each audition show, one Dance Captain chose their 'Greatest Dancer Of The Day', an act of their choice which advances straight to the live shows.

Callbacks

The callbacks aired as a separate show in 2019, and immediately after the fourth round of auditions in 2020. From the acts that had qualified for the callbacks, the Dance Captains each selected three to join their team (or two in the second series as they had each already chosen a 'Greatest Dancer Of The Day' for their team previously).

Live Challenge

Each Saturday, the final acts performed to stay in the competition. Each act was assigned a different challenge, which they had to incorporate into their performance. Much like the auditions, each audience member had a light to turn on during each performance that they liked. After all acts had performed, the public were given the opportunity to vote for their favourite acts. Either one or two acts were voted off each week, eventually leaving four to compete in the final show.

Final

Each of the four acts in the final firstly perform a collaboration with their respective Dance Captain, and the act that received the fewest votes from the public finished in fourth place. The three remaining acts then each performed a reprise of the dance they performed in the auditions stage. The act that received the most votes from the public was crowned the winner and received £50,000 and a chance to perform on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing .[ citation needed ]

Series 1 (2019)

Live show details

Acts

Act [11] No. of
members
HometownGenreDance CaptainResult
Ellie1 Livingston Contemporary Oti Mabuse Winner
on 23 February 2019
Harry & Eleiyah2VariousContemporary Cheryl Finalists
on 23 February 2019
KLA8 South Wales Latin formation Oti Mabuse
James & Oliver2 Hatfield, Hertfordshire Contemporary Matthew Morrison Eliminated
on 23 February 2019
Dane Bates Collective9VariousContemporaryCherylEliminated
on 16 February 2019
Frobacks4 London Street
Company Jinks14VariousCommercialMatthew MorrisonEliminated
on 9 February 2019
Prospects Fraternity13 London Street
The Globe Girls5 London CommercialOti MabuseEliminated
on 2 February 2019

Week 1 (2 February)

Week 2 (9 February)

Week 3: Semi-final (16 February)

Week 4: Final (23 February)

Dance 1: Performance with Dance Captain (one act eliminated)
Dance 2: Reprise of audition dance

Series 2 (2020)

The second series started on 4 January 2020. In a change from last year, at the end of each week a different coach was chosen to pick an act from that week to join their team. The choices were as follow:

Auditions

Week 1

Cheryl was selected to choose a Greatest Dancer of the Day.

ActNo. of
members
GenreSongResult
Ross and Travis2Street"Let Me Clear My Throat"/"Will 2K"/"I Wanna Dance with Somebody"Advanced to Callbacks
Los Rumberos6LatinAdvanced to Callbacks
Lily and Joseph2Contemporary"Rise Up"Cheryl's Greatest Dancers of the Day
Sam and Mash2Afro Dance"Dangote"/"Karaoke"Eliminated - 70%
Tom1Contemporary"Turning Tables"Advanced to Callbacks
Giovanni1Northern SoulAdvanced to Callbacks
Waack This Way8Street"In the Hall of the Mountain King"Eliminated - 15%
Soar Kids12Street"Finesse"Advanced to Callbacks
Patrick and Laura2Irish Dance"I Want It That Way"Advanced to Callbacks
Miss J1Street"The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"/"Pyro Ting"/"Hey Mama/"16 Shots"Advanced to Callbacks
Dinkie Flowers1Tap"Singin' in the Rain"/"Hawaii Five-O theme"Advanced to Callbacks
Harrison Vaughan1Contemporary"Enter the Circus"/"Game of Survival"Advanced to Callbacks

Week 2

Todrick Hall was selected to choose a Greatest Dancer of the Day.

ActNo. of
members
GenreSongResult
Michael and Jowita2Latin"Lollipop"/"Rock Around the Clock"/"Hey! Baby"/"Jump, Jive an' Wail"Advanced to Callbacks
JJ Acrobatics16Acro Dance"Toxic"Advanced to Callbacks
Jake O'Shea1Irish Dance"Traditional Irish Music"/"Diva"Advanced to Callbacks
Womanhood5Commercial"Ain't Your Mama"Eliminated - 41%
Ainsley Ricketts1Contemporary"Shine On You"Todrick's Greatest Dancer of the Day
DN1215Commercial"Wind It Up"/"Spice Up Your Life"/"Heads Will Roll"Advanced to Callbacks
Aimee1Modern Jazz"Rain Dance"Advanced to Callbacks
Vale16Contemporary"The Untold"Advanced to Callbacks
Tony and Mandy2Latin American"Let's Get Loud"—Jennifer Lopez Eliminated - 45%
Renako Collective5Contemporary"Human"—Rag'n'Bone Man Advanced to Callbacks

Week 3

Matthew Morrison was selected to choose a Greatest Dancer of the Day.

ActNo. of
members
GenreSongResult
Dancepoint16Contemporary"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"Advanced to Callbacks
Laurence Cooke1Street"Feel Good Inc."Eliminated - 73%
The Queens7Jazz"Does Your Mother Know"Advanced to Callbacks
Hannah Martin1Contemporary"Here with Me"Matthew's Greatest Dancer of the Day
Ryan Gibson1Commercial"Look What You Made Me Do"Advanced to Callbacks
Young Dream Chasers12Street"Phenomenal Woman"Advanced to Callbacks
Tom and Jo2Latin"Muevete Duro"Advanced to Callbacks
Resilience4Ballet"Power"Eliminated - 74%
Darius and DJ G2Commercial"In the Morning"/"Flowers"Advanced to Callbacks
Jordan Crouch1Tap"All of Me"Advanced to Callbacks
Brothers of Dance9Contemporary"Wicked Game"Advanced to Callbacks

Week 4

Oti Mabuse was selected to choose a Greatest Dancer of the Day.

ActNo. of
members
GenreSongResult
Alex & Jacqueline2Ballroom"Hurt"Advanced to Callbacks
Elite Dance Juniors9Jazz"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"/ "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"/ "Please Mr. Postman"/ "Do You Love Me"Advanced to Callbacks
Yassaui Mergaliyev1Ballet"Feeling Good"Advanced to Callbacks
Jelli15Commercial"Donatella"Advanced to Callbacks
Jessica Larch1Street / Afro Dance"Boasty"Advanced to Callbacks
Legacy Funk5Street"Treat 'em Right"Advanced to Callbacks
Nonsuch Dancers6Historical Dance"Dancing Queen"Eliminated - 23%
Dark Angels12Hip-hop"Beggin'"/"I Need a Girl (Part Two)"/"A Milli"/"Slow Motion"—Trey Songz / "Can't Hold Us"—Macklemore & Ryan Lewis /"I'm Fly"/"Dreams and Nightmares"Oti's Greatest Dancers of the Day

The Final 12

ActNo. of

members

HometownGenreDance CaptainEliminations
Michael and Jowita2 London Latin Oti Mabuse Winners (7 March 2020)
Harrison Vaughan1 Liverpool Contemporary Matthew Morrison Finalists (7 March 2020)
Lily and Joseph2 Sunderland Cheryl
Dancepoint16 Glasgow Todrick Hall 7 March 2020
Brothers of Dance9Various Cheryl 29 February 2020
Hannah Martin1 Burgess Hill Matthew Morrison
Vale16 Stockport Oti Mabuse 22 February 2020
Ainsley Ricketts1 London Todrick Hall 15 February 2020
Ross and Travis2 Portsmouth and Bournemouth Street Matthew Morrison 8 February 2020
Dark Angels12 Bristol Hip-hop Oti Mabuse
The Queens7 London Jazz Cheryl 1 February 2020
Ryan1 Sandhurst Commercial Todrick Hall

Live Challenge Shows

ActDance CaptainLive Challenge 1Live Challenge 2Live Challenge 3Live Challenge 4 (Quarter-Final)Live Challenge 5 (Semi-Final)Grand Finale
Michael & JowitaOti8th
90.5%
3rd
95.3%
3rd
92.4%
5th
90.5%
1st
96.5%
Winners
(2020 Grand Finale)
Lily & JosephCheryl4th
95.2%
4th
94.9%
1st=
93.8%
2nd
95.6%
6th
87.1%
Finalists
(2020 Grand Finale)
Harrison VaughanMatthew5th=
94.2%
9th
88.8%
8th
79.8%
3rd
94.8%
2nd
93.6%
DancepointTodrick9th
89.9%
1st
96.9%
4th
92.3%
4th
90.9%
4th
91.6%
Eliminated(2020 Grand Finale)
Brothers of DanceCheryl1st
97.8%
2nd
95.6%
5th
91.3%
1st
96.2%
3rd
92.7%
Eliminated
(Semi-Final)
Hannah MartinMatthew5th=
94.2%
7th
90.6%
6th
89.7%
7th
81.3%
5th
88.1%
ValeOti10th
88.9%
8th
89.3%
7th
89.2%
6th
87.0%
Eliminated
(Quarter-Final)
Ainsley RickettsTodrick3rd
95.5%
6th
91.7%
1st=
93.8%
Eliminated
(Live Challenge 3)
Dark AngelsOti7th
92.1%
10th
87.9%
Eliminated
(Live Challenge 2)
Ross and TravisMatthew2nd
97.0%
5th
93.2%
RyanTodrick11th
74.6%
Eliminated
(Live Challenge 1)
The QueensCheryl12th
48.4%

Challenge Show 1

  • Theme: Best of British
OrderActDance CaptainSong(s)Challenge ThemeStudio VoteResult
1DancepointTodrick"Friend Like Me"Pantomime
89.9%
Last To Be Called Safe
2Michael and JowitaOti"Kissing You" Shakespeare
90.5%
Safe
3Harrison VaughanMatthew"Somebody's Watching Me"Royalty
94.2%
Safe
4The QueensCheryl"A Nice Cup of Tea"/"I Believe in a Thing Called Love"Afternoon Tea
48.4%
Eliminated
5Ainsley RickettsTodrick"No Light, No Light"Weather
95.5%
Safe
6Lily and JosephCheryl"Runaway Baby"Seaside
95.2%
Safe
7ValeOti"Arrival of the Birds"Queueing
88.9%
Safe
8Ross and TravisMatthew"Boasty"/"Tragedy"/"Big for Your Boots"/"Cry Me a River"/"Where Are Ü Now"/"O Fortuna"Secret Agents
97.0%
Safe
9Hannah Martin"Lost Without You"Telephone Box
94.2%
Safe
10Dark AngelsOti"Earthquake"—Labrinth / "Shutdown"—Skepta / "Dance Off"—Macklemore & Ryan Lewis / "High Hopes"—Panic! at the Disco House of Commons
92.1%
Safe
11Ryan GibsonTodrick"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"/"Soul Bossa Nova"/"Work It Out"The Sixties
74.6%
Eliminated
12Brothers of DanceCheryl"Red Right Hand"/"Glory" Peaky Blinders
97.8%
Safe

Challenge Show 2

  • Theme: Props
OrderActDance CaptainSong(s)Challenge ThemeStudio VoteResult
1Brothers of DanceCheryl"Live Like Legends"Chessboard
95.6%
Safe
2Michael and JowitaOti"Crazy in Love"/"Bang Bang"Canes
95.3%
Safe
3Harrison VaughanMatthew"Perfect"Jewellery Box
88.8%
Safe
4ValeOti"Time"Clocks
89.3%
Last To Be Called Safe
5Lily and JosephCheryl"A Million Dreams"Books
94.9%
Safe
6Ainsley RickettsTodrick"Unspoken"Bench
91.7%
Safe
7Ross and TravisMatthew"September"/"Steamy Windows"/"Instruction"/This Is How We Do It"/"I Just Want to Make Love to You"/"Sweet Lovin'"Ladders
93.2%
Eliminated
8Hannah MartinMatthew"Alive"Silk
90.6%
Safe
9Dark AngelsOti"La La La"/"Gecko"Mobile Phones
87.9%
Eliminated
10DancepointTodrick"In the Air Tonight"Mirror
96.9%
Safe

Challenge Show 3

  • Theme: Around the World
OrderActMentorSong(s)Challenge ThemeStudio VoteResult
1Lily and JosephCheryl"You Are the Reason"—Calum Scott Iceland
93.8%
Safe
2Ainsley RickettsTodrick Hall"Giant"—Calvin Harris and Rag'n'Bone Man Rio de Janeiro
93.8%
Eliminated
3ValeOti Mabuse"Insomnia"—Faithless Cairo
89.2%
Safe
4Harrison VaughanMatthew Morrison"Smile" Paris
79.8%
Safe
5DancepointTodrick Hall"Gravity" Beijing
92.3%
Safe
6Michael and JowitaOti Mabuse"Get the Party Started"—Pink Monte Carlo
92.4%
Safe
7Brothers of DanceCheryl"Sparrow"—Emeli Sandé The Amazon
91.3%
Last To Be Called Safe
8Hannah MartinMatthew Morrison"Where We Come Alive" - Ruelle Athens
89.7%
Safe

Challenge Show 4 (Quarter-Final)

  • Theme: Dance Fusion
OrderActDance CaptainSong(s)Challenge ThemeStudio VoteResult
1Harrison VaughanMatthew"Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing)"Tap
94.8%
Safe
2ValeOti"Soon We'll Be Found"—Sia Ballroom
87.0%
Eliminated
3Lily & JosephCheryl"You Can't Stop the Beat"Rock'n'Roll
95.6%
Safe
4Hannah MartinMatthew"Havana"—Camila Cabello Latin
81.3%
Safe
5Brothers of DanceCheryl"Don't Start Now"—Dua Lipa Commercial
96.2%
Safe
6DancepointTodrick"Swan Lake"Ballet
90.9%
Last To Be Called Safe
7Michael & JowitaOti"Your Disco Needs You"—Kylie Minogue / "You Should Be Dancing"—Bee Gees / "Le Freak"—Chic / "Boogie Wonderland"—Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions Disco
90.5%
Safe

Challenge Show 5 (Semi Final)

  • Theme: Coaches' Pick
OrderActDance CaptainSong(s)Challenge ThemeStudio VoteResult
1DancepointTodrick"Get Happy" Classic Hollywood
91.6%
Last to be called safe
2Michael and JowitaOti"Do You Love Me" / "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" Dirty Dancing
96.5%
Safe
3Hannah MartinMatthew"Clubbed to Death"—Rob Dougan Ocean
88.1%
Eliminated
4Lily and JosephCheryl"A Sky Full of Stars"—Coldplay Childhood Dreams
87.1%
Safe
5Brothers of DanceCheryl"Rumble" Military
92.7%
Eliminated
6Harrison VaughanMatthew"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"—Elton John Elton John
93.6%
Safe

Final

Dance 1: Performance with Dance Captain (one act eliminated)
Dance 2: Reprise of favourite dance
OrderActDance CaptainSong(s)Result
1DancepointTodrick"Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels"/"Dem Beats"Eliminated
2Lily and JosephCheryl"Pure Imagination"Top 3
"Rise Up"—Andra Day
3Michael and JowitaOti"The Ballroom Blitz"Top Of Public Vote
"Get the Party Started"—Pink
4Harrison VaughanMatthew"Soda Pop"Top 3
"Enter the Circus"/"Game of Survival"

Judges, receptionist and presenters

Overview

Key
  Presenter of The Greatest Dancer
  Receptionist of The Greatest Dancer
  Dance Captain of The Greatest Dancer
Cast memberSeries
12
Alesha Dixon Host
Jordan Banjo Host
Amelia Wilson Recurring -
Curtis Pritchard - Recurring
Cheryl Main
Matthew Morrison Main
Oti Mabuse Main
Todrick Hall - Main

-

Presenters

On 19 July 2018, it was announced that Alesha Dixon and Jordan Banjo would host the programme.

Dance panel

On 10 August 2018, it was announced that the show's Dance Captains were Cheryl, Matthew Morrison and Oti Mabuse. For the 2020 series, dancer Todrick Hall joined as the fourth Dance Captain. [12]

International versions

The format has been sold to broadcasters in China, Denmark, Spain and Belgium (North and South).

Region/countryLocal titleNetworkWinnersDance CaptainsPresenter(s)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China [13] [14] The Greatest Dancer China Dragon TV Series 1, 2020: Li Yi Ran Jin Xing
Tong Liya
Ren Jialun
Zhu Zhengting
Cheng Lei
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark [15] Den Vildeste Danser TV2 Series 1, 2020: Olivia Obiefule Sonny Fredie-Pedersen
Silas Holst
Mille Gori
Christiane Schaumburg-Müller
Christopher Læssø
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain [16] [17] [18] The Dancer La 1 Series 1, 2021: Macarena Ramírez Lola Índigo
Miguel Ángel Muñoz
Rafa Méndez
Ion Aramendi
Sandra Cervera
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium (Wallonia) [19] [20] The Dancer La Une Series 1, 2023: FusionLaurien Decibel
Aurel Zola
Agustin Galiana
Sara De Paduwa
Ivan
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium (Flanders) [21] [22] The Greatest Dancer van Vlaanderen Eén Series 1, 2023: ? Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Laurien Decibel
Niels Destadsbader
Siska Schoeters
Aster Nzeyimana

References

  1. "Millions tune in to watch Lothians teenager Ellie Fergusson win The Greatest Dancer". www.scotsman.com. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  2. Warner, Sam (23 February 2019). "The Greatest Dancer will return for a second series on BBC One". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  3. "Curtis Pritchard joins BBC One's The Greatest Dancer". BBC . Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  4. Bond, Kimberley (9 March 2019). "Who is The Greatest Dancer receptionist Amelia Wilson?". Radio Times . Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  5. "The Greatest Dancer pulled by BBC after two series". BBC News . 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  6. "Cheryl stars in BBC talent show pilot". BBC News. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  7. Probert, Sarah (10 August 2018). "Why people are queuing outside ICC in Birmingham this morning". birminghammail. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  8. "About the Show". BBC. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  9. Warner, Sam (12 January 2019). "The Greatest Dancer's Jordan Banjo tells off audience". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  10. "The Greatest Dancer: How does it work? Everything you need to know about Cheryl's new show". 5 January 2019.
  11. "The Final 9". BBC. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  12. Duke, Simon (3 January 2020). "New dance captain Todrick Hall joins The Greatest Dancer series 2". nechronicle. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  13. "The Greatest Dancer China". www.facebook.com.
  14. Dams, Tim (29 April 2020). "BBC Cancels Simon Cowell's 'The Greatest Dancer' After Two Seasons".
  15. "Premiere Night "The Greatest Dancer" — SONNY".
  16. "Apúntate al casting de 'The Dancer'". RTVE.es. 21 December 2020.
  17. "Ion Aramendi presentará 'The Dancer', el talent de baile de TVE con Lola Índigo, Miguel Ángel Muñoz y Rafa Méndez". eldiario.es (in European Spanish). 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  18. "Sandra Cervera, de 'Puente Viejo' a copresentar 'The Dancer' con Ion Aramendi en TVE". eldiario.es (in European Spanish). 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  19. "The Dancer arrive prochainement sur La Une". Nostalgie.be. 8 September 2022.
  20. "The Dancer : Découvrez les noms des coachs de la nouvelle émission de danse de la RTBF". RTBF.be (in French). 7 September 2022.
  21. "Vernieuwde VRT komt volgend jaar met "verbindende" dansshow". Knack. 24 August 2022.
  22. VRT (19 January 2023). "Gloednieuwe zoektocht naar geweldig danstalent: The greatest dancer van Vlaanderen | VRT.be". www.vrt.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 February 2023.